Acceptance
by Blatant Subtleties
Summary: One-shot. Would Inuyasha have turned out to be a surly hanyou if he had met Kagome as a child in the Feudal Era? We may never find out.


**AN:** This was an idea that was floating around in my head for a while, and it took me some time to put it down. It's my take on Inuyasha's childhood and what might have been if he hadn't been left alone to fend for himself as a kid. I'm sure it's been done before and I can only hope that I've done it better. :p

And, no. Ice Princess is not on hiatus or anything. Next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Belated happy Valentine's day to you all:)

**Disclaimer:** What I wouldn't give to own Inuyasha. But no, go annoy Rumiko Takahashi.

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Inuyasha was on the run again, this time from an angry mob that chased him out of a sparsely populated village. His tiny hanyou feet had been a hindrance in the beginning, but he was a quick learner and after several such chases, his survival instinct took over his desire to conserve bodily resources.

Small arms clutched the food that had been nicked tighter to his chest, as Inuyasha sped away from the torch-bearing villagers who frightened the young dog demon with their murderous intent. He briefly considered dropping the bread and taking to the trees before dismissing the notion; they wouldn't give up the chase even if he did return the stolen food.

He recalled the last time he had been caught stealing food from a village. The little ears on his head drooped as his expression turned sour at the memory; the scars from the last time had yet to fade from his back and his left arm still bore slight bruises from the sharp kicks he had mercilessly received. The taunts of "Filthy half-breed" and "Worthless piece of trash" echoed with his rapid footsteps and Inuyasha shook his head vehemently to clear the memory. If he wasn't careful, he was in for a repeat of last time's show.

Without realising it, he had entered a forest and a broad smirk appeared on Inuyasha's face; he had a definite advantage over the villagers among the trees and he could already hear the confused shouts of the men, who couldn't see him standing through the thicket. Disbelief shone in Inuyasha's eyes when he heard the voices fade away. _'They're leaving so soon?'_

Not wanting to take the risk of being caught unawares, he scanned his surroundings and mentally rejoiced when he spotted a small cave that was hidden from the common eye by several vines and creepers that had grown over the entrance. Upon closer inspection, Inuyasha noticed that it was a dug-out cave and he frowned as he sniffed out traces of smoke.

He cautiously entered the cave and was startled to find a strong fire burning in the middle of the space and a young girl sitting in front of it, rubbing her hands together to draw out some warmth. She raised her head when he stepped inside and his surprise grew, realising that the girl couldn't be older than nine. Her eyes were a clear shade of blue and her hair fell choppily in her face. When she opened her mouth to say something, Inuyasha winced, expecting the worst from his experience. But his assumption couldn't have been farther from reality.

"Won't you sit down? You must be cold." Her voice was soft and kind, something Inuyasha hadn't heard since his mother. His eyes snapped open in shock and the food he was carrying dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

The girl exclaimed in dismay, and rushed forward to gather the fallen items. "Where did you get all this from?" she asked curiously, seemingly struggling with the contents in her arms. "Did you steal it?"

Inuyasha grunted shortly in affirmation, a light blush spreading across his cheeks as he anticipated her disapproving tone. He had no idea why her opinion should be of any importance to him; he hadn't eaten in days and he had every right to steal food that nobody was going to consume in the village. But for some unfathomable reason, Inuyasha felt that he wanted – no, **needed** – this wisp of a girl's approval.

His ears twitched as they picked up the sound of her giggles. He regarded her blankly, not wanting to convey his bewilderment, but her next words indicated that she had understood him anyway. "My stash is over there," she chirped, pointing towards the far corner of the cave. "We're going to have a feast tonight!"

Inuyasha allowed a ghost of a smile to slip through as he watched her put their pilfered goods together. Despite himself, he was rather impressed at the amount that lay before his eyes. Even at the castle, he hadn't been allowed so much food. He sat down facing her and was about to take a huge bite into the bread, when her unrelenting stare distracted him.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

"Your ears," she said slowly. "You're a hanyou, aren't you?"

Looking away, Inuyasha spat out, "Yeah. Going to throw me out now, wench?"

"Don't call me that!" she cried angrily. "I offered you my home, didn't I? I knew you were a hanyou from the start, but that didn't stop me."

Inuyasha lowered his eyes in apology. His curiosity got the better of him as he queried, "This is your home?"

It was her turn to look away this time. "Yes," she said snippily. "I used to live in a village when I was younger, but a pack of wolf demons ravaged the place and killed everyone there." Her voice became horribly melancholic as she continued, "I have no idea why they avoided me, but I've been living in here since then."

"How did you know about me?" Inuyasha's voice was muffled by the bread that he was chewing on and the girl's face turned a delicate green.

"My mother was training me to be a miko," she replied, taking a bite out of the fruits in front of her. "I've been trying to practice on my own, but it hasn't been as effective without my family to guide me."

Inuyasha knew he was supposed to offer comforting words at this juncture but he was hardly a teenager and he had never interacted with girls in such a manner before. He ceased his attack on the food as he said awkwardly, "It'll be okay." He brightened as he added, "You can train with me, if you like."

"I don't know the first thing about you," she retorted sourly, crossing her arms across her chest. Her huffy posture drew a wide grin from the hanyou, who scurried closer to her.

"My name's Inuyasha," he said toothily. "I'm eleven years old, I think. You can tell," he pointed to the furry triangles sitting atop his head, "that I'm not fully human but I don't hate humans. Yet," he added as an afterthought. Kagome giggled slightly and Inuyasha said, "What about you?"

"I'm Higurashi Kagome. I'm almost ten and there's not much else to tell since I told you everything already." Despite her grumpy tone, Kagome's face was alit with excitement; she hadn't met anybody she could be friends with in a very long time. "Why are you running around for food anyway?"

"'Cuz I'm a hanyou," Inuyasha stated simply. Off Kagome's sceptical look, he elaborated, "My mom was the daughter of a daimyo and the old man was a youkai lord. People at the castle used to treat me alright when my mom was around, but after she died they threw me out." His face clouded over as he added, "I'm supposed to be staying with my brother, but I don't know where to find him, so I'm on my own now."

Inuyasha was about to tell her how much he despised his brother when he picked up a salty scent. Alarmed, he saw tears pooling in her eyes and he stammered, "O-oi, wench, don't cry."

"Baka, don't call me that." Kagome glared at him frostily through her tears. "My name is Kagome."

"Keh." Inuyasha turned away but looked back at her almost immediately. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," she replied blandly, sniffing away her last tears. "I'm just feeling sad."

"Stupid girl," he muttered, deciding to eat once again and handed a big chunk of meat to the girl he had met barely an hour ago.

"Thanks," she said absently, taking the proffered food into her hands.

Inuyasha wondered why this tiny girl wasn't running away from him, screaming her head off like every other person he'd met. He knew she wasn't as weak as she looked, yet she didn't beat him to a bloody pulp either. For the first time since his mother had died, Inuyasha felt... welcomed. Instinctually he knew that, no matter what, this girl would accept him; she wouldn't shun him for being neither human nor youkai.

A pair of gentle hands tweaking his ears brought him out of his contemplative state. "W-What are you doing?" A rapid flush descended on Inuyasha's face.

"They're cute," Kagome replied matter-of-factly. "I've been itching to do that since you got here, but I thought it might be a little weird."

"Why isn't it weird now?" He couldn't bring himself to lie to her face and say that he didn't like it; but he couldn't lie down and allow her to do whatever she pleased to him either.

"You looked like you were in a different world," she said cheekily. "I thought I'd be safe."

"Keh," was all Inuyasha could manage, trying to restore normalcy to his face.

"Let's be friends," Kagome declared suddenly, after a few minutes of complete silence. "You can stay in here and I'll get food for the both of us without setting angry mobs loose."

_'Friends.'_ The word was alien to the hanyou, who didn't know how to react. Her proposition was appealing, but he would never grow up to be a man if he took advantage of a woman like that. Crossing his arms and putting up an indifferent air, he said, "I'll help you with your miko training and..." Inuyasha wondered if it was alright for him to continue. He decided to plough ahead, irrespective of the consequences. "And I'll protect you, Kagome."

Kagome's eyes sparkled brightly in delight and her response seemed incredibly restrained. "That sounds pretty good."

They shook on their newly formed friendship and settled into a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional comment about their dinner. Neither would know that theirs was a relationship that would come to transcend time.

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**AN:** Did I mention this was a one-shot? X) 


End file.
